Updates and Newsletters: The main news stories from the major sources, selected, compiled, and occasionally commented on by Michael Novakhov ("Mike Nova") | Public RSS Feeds on the various topics of Global Security | Topics oriented news reviews

Five Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the conflict in eastern Ukraine in the past 24 hours, the military said on Tuesday, as Germany's foreign minister prepared to hold talks on the crisis in both Kiev and Moscow.

Staunton, November 18 – Vladimir Putin’s actions in Ukraine are not part of a broader imperial program but rather a tactical move on the part of the Kremlin leader to shore up his power in Moscow, something that makes any resolution of the conflict in Ukraine more rather than less difficult, according to Liliya Shevtsova.

Many people in Russia and the West think that what Putin is doing is about Ukraine or at least about the former Soviet space, “but this is not so,” the Russian analyst writes. Instead, “everything began in 2011” when Russians went into the streets and prompted Putin to begin “the construction of a new political regime” (nvua.net/opinion/shevcova/tri-glavnyh-celi-putina-v-ukraine-20803.html).

Putin was truly frightened by the possibility that the number of protesters in Moscow would soon be “not 300,000 but three million,” and consequently, he moved to create “an extraordinarily repressive regime” and “liquidated all the provisions of the Constitution which allowed Russians to breathe freely.”

His fears and his drive toward “absolutism and Bonapartism” were only exacerbated by the Maidan in Ukraine, a popular movement which showed what could happen elsewhere. Preventing it from happening in Russia became for Putin “goal number one,” something far more important to him than “any expansionist goals.”

Moreover, Putin is especially disturbed by the Ukrainians because if they succeed in becoming genuinely independent, then for him, they will have called into question “the historical legitimacy” of Russia based on the Baptism of Kyivan Rus in 988, a myth Russian rulers have insisted upon and most Russians have accepted as a given.

But most important, Shevtsova says, “Putin has recognized that he can rule in contemporary Russia,” a country beset by problems, “only by closing the windows, locking the doors and mobilizing the Russian population” by putting the country on a war footing by “military-patriotic rhetoric.”

The reality he has had to deal with, she continues, is that relatively few Russians, perhaps only 15 to 17 percent, are “openly Putinists,” regardless of what happens.But “having annexed the Crimea, he has mobilized” not only them but other Russians “by converting Russia into a country at war and himself into a wartime president.”

By so doing, the Kremlin leader has painted himself into a corner from which he cannot easily escape. Tragically and precisely because Ukraine for Putin is a matter of domestic politics, neither can Russians or all the others who have been swept into the tragedy that he has created in order to save face and save his position.

Three massive craters were discovered this summer on the Yamal Peninsula in northern Siberia. In an effort to understand the origins of the newly formed craters, a group of scientists descended into one of the holes, reaching a frozen lake at the bottom. Their initial investigation suggests that the crater was formed not by a meteorite impact, but by an explosion of underground gas hydrates. The research team led by Vladimir Pushkarev, director of the Russian Center of Arctic Exploration,...

Secretary of State John Kerry says he is hopeful the U.S. and group of five other world powers can reach a deal with Iran on the country's nuclear program, but that he will not make any predictions. Negotiators from Iran and the so-called P5+1 group that includes the U.S., Britain, China, France, Russia and Germany are meeting again Tuesday in Vienna. They have less than a week to reach an agreement before their November 24 deadline. Speaking Tuesday alongside British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, Kerry called this week's talks "critical." "It's imperative, obviously, that Iran work with us in all possible effort to prove to the world the program is peaceful," he said. Iranian media quoted Foreign Minister Javad Zarif saying Tuesday that a deal is still possible and expressing caution toward the international side to not make "excessive demands" of Iran. The two sides have been negotiating for a year trying to agree on a comprehensive pact that ensures Iran's nuclear program is peaceful in exchange for a repeal of sanctions that have hurt the country's economy. An interim agreement last November called for Iran to curb its most sensitive nuclear activity while receiving targeted sanction relief. The deadline for a wider deal was originally set for July, but with no agreement in place negotiators decided to continue the process for another six months.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg denounced on Tuesday what he called a serious military buildup both inside Ukraine and on the Russian side of the border and urged Moscow to pull back its troops.

Staunton, November 18 – Islam in Crimea traces its history back to the time of the Prophet and for most of that time, its followers have been moderate, even progressive in their views. That was the situation of the Crimean Tatars prior to the Anschluss, but the harsh treatment they have received since then threatens to radicalize at least some of them.

According to Elmira Muratova, a scholar at the Tauride National University, “the overwhelming majority” of Muslims there (79.5 percent) view Islam as a part of their cultural tradition, with only a small share (7.5 percent) being sufficiently committed to say the namaz five times a day (risu.org.ua/ru/index/exclusive/events_people/58210/).

That does not mean that the Crimean Tatars are secular, she continues. Only one in 200 identifies as an atheist. But the members of that community do not see the need to engage in the rituals of the faith in order to share it. Muratova says that this reflects the fact that “in contrast to the Russian Federation, the Ukrainian authorities in fact didn’t interfere in Muslim affairs.”

Prior to the Russian occupation, she continues, there were only a few occasional efforts to influence the community “via parallel structures” but these efforts were not systematic or harsh. After the Russian annexation, however, the situation in this regard changed radically, and the Muslims may respond as a result.

Under the occupation, searches in mosques and in the homes of Crimean Tatars for religious literature that is illegal in Russia became the norm.Until September, such actions were done quietly without announcements, but since then, the occupation authorities have been quite open about what they are doing.

Moreover, the occupation authorities have been putting more pressure on the Muslim Spiritual Directorate (MSD) of Crimea and opened the way for the appearance of a rival muftiate “which immediately declared that it represented true Islam.”In addition, there have been kidnappings, disappearances, and even deaths.

These actions, especially given the extent to which the occupation authorities have restricted the activities of the Crimean Tatar Mejlis by exiling two of its leaders, raiding its building, and regularly attacking its meetings and statements, are changing the attitudes of many Muslims in Crimea, the scholar suggests.

Lest things get worse in the immediate future, the occupation authorities have declared that they will not engage in any checking or raids on Muslim facilities or households until January 1. But that date is not far away, and many doubt that the occupation authorities will in fact keep their promises.

Organizationally, Islam in Crimea has recovered much of the ground it lost under Russian and then Soviet occupation. There are now 323 mosques, of which 95 are new, eight medrassahs, and about 80 religious schools, as well as two MSDs and representatives of Salafi trends, Hiz ut-Tahrir and the Muslim Brotherhood.

As the occupation authorities limit the secular organizations of the Crimean Tatars and continue to attack religious ones, there is a possibility that just as has been the case in parts of the Russian Federation, an increasing number of Crimean Tatars will turn to religion and to its more radical forms, a development the Russian occupiers will have only themselves to blame.

Ukraine's military is preparing to repel a possible assault by Russian-backed rebels in the east following reports of Russian military reinforcements crossing the border. Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko said Monday in an interview with the daily German daily Bild that the country is ready for total war. Ukraine's military is beefing up its defenses just a few kilometers from rebel-held territory in the Luhansk region. Private Sergai Eava with the 39th battalion said the Ukraine soldiers have to be prepared. “We received information that our guys were being shelled … yesterday with artillery and grads [rockets],” Eava said. The captain and commander of this new checkpoint, who asked to be called Andriy, said they have plenty of ammunition but could use more men. “We came here two days ago. We didn’t have any conflicts here with the other side yet. But they say that there are small groups working here, about 10 people in a group. We received this intelligence information,” Captain Andriy said. A Ukrainian soldier suddenly fires his machine gun toward rebel positions in front of a group of journalists, saying, “Warning shots.” Frequent target of rebel fire The post comes under frequent rebel fire and was hit by a grad rocket the day before, although no one was injured. Senior Mortar Gunner Vayacheslav said they are ready to fight off an assault. “Yes, they’ve strengthened us and strengthened us quite well. They are hardening everything. So, if there is an attack, we will be prepared to repel it,” Vayacheslav said. Captain Andriy Slota, squad commander, said they have new munitions, but the men are tired. “It’s time to end this singing and dancing and decide whether to move forward [militarily] or solve this on some legal level to let people go [demobilize soldiers]. Or, just return our country to us and let people go. Enough is enough. The time has come,” Slota said. The Kremlin denies giving weapons to the rebels, who claim recently spotted military columns headed west are part of a normal rotation. The rebels, fighting against the pro-Western government in Kyiv, fear it is the Ukrainian forces who are planning an offensive.

For nearly 25 years, the Russian radio station Ekho Moskvy has been targeted by officials in Moscow over its fiercely independent reporting and commentary. Here’s a look at four examples of the radio station’s run-ins with powerful officials in Moscow.

Two suspected Palestinian men armed with axes and knives killed four people in a Jerusalem synagogue on Tuesday before being shot dead by police, Israeli police and emergency services said, the deadliest such attack in the city in years.

Staunton, November 18 – The G-20 meeting in Brisbane demonstrated that “the marginalization of Putin is a fait accompli,” that he has failed to split the West, and that its leaders have no intention of acting as Neville Chamberlain did in the late 1930s, according to Dmitry Oreshkin.

The Moscow political scientist, who is a member of Putin’s own Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights, says what happened in Australia was “a misfortune for Putin and for Putin’s Russia because his entire policy has been based on the assumption that the West is liberal and therefore cowardly” (ruspolitics.ru/article/read/marginalizacija-putina---sostojavshijsja-fakt.html).

Certain that the Western leaders “fear war” more than anything else, Putin has followed a strategy of “raising the stakes and constant bluff” in order to get his way.But “now the West has given him to understand that it sees his bluff and does not intend to fall for it,” a shift away from how the West has been acting for several decades.

This new reality leaves Putin with an extremely unattractive choice: he could fold, a step that would be “rational” but is impossible because it would be “accompanied by a loss of face” and potentially much more. Or he could exploit what has happened abroad as the basis for a new propaganda campaign at home and possibly new actions abroad.

Russians will now be told, Oreshkin says, that “the world is on the edge of war, that they must unify, mobilize and resist.” Putin thus has no other choice remaining, and to sustain this emotional state in Russian society, he will have to constantly “blow up someone or kill someone.”

But at the same time, it is becoming ever more obvious that Russia lacks the resources to confront the West, Oreshkin suggests. “One must note that now nothing is being said about anti-missile defense. This theme has disappeared from discussions in the press and internationally as well. That means that the West has understood that it must shift this from Iran to Russia.”

And that in turn means that “Putin understands” what that means for his chances against the West.

Putin has been miscalculating all along: He assumed that Europe would be intimidated and it hasn’t been. He assumed that ethnic Russians in Ukraine would welcome his invasion, and they haven’t. And he assumed that he could purchase time by turning to China and selling Beijing Russia’s oil and gas, but the prospects for that are far from as clear as he imagines.

All this is coming to a head and “what is most important,” it is doing so “quite quickly:” The ruble is falling as is Russia’s “international prestige.”As a result, the situation is quite dangerous because Putin is someone who is spiteful and touchy and sometimes is inclined to overrate his own resources.”

Ukraine's military is preparing to repel a possible assault by Russian-backed rebels in the east following reports of Russian military reinforcements crossing the border. Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko has said they are ready for total war. VOA's Daniel Schearf reports from Ukraine's front lines in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Staunton, November 18 – A leader, someone has said, can tolerate almost any attack, but he needs to worry if people begin to laugh at him. Russians have a long history of telling anecdotes about their leaders – jokes allow for deniability – and this humor has not always cost those in charge their positions even if it has invariably undermined their reputations.

A man comes into a drug store and says he isn’t feeling well. The druggist asks if he has a prescription. The man replies, “Isn’t a Russian passport enough?”

One Russian says he has watched “Planet of the Apes. The Revolution.” Another replies that he has listened to Putin’s latest speech.

A Russian is asked to name the Russian product which enjoys the greatest demand in the population. His response: Putin’s lies. “Why not vodka?” he is asked. To which the first responds: “Because the number of consumers of vodka is much smaller.”

Putin says that the Russian army will be supplied with the most advanced offensive and defensive arms. A Russian replies that this means he is again going to use women and children “behind the backs of whom will be concealed polite ‘little green men.’”

Putin decides that he will in no case fall behind the leaders of Western countries. When they introduce sanctions against Russia, Putin does the same, not only imposing sanctions but also imposing them against Russia.

Asked whether he plans to put up the iron curtain again, Putin replies that no, he will only use barbed wire this time around.

Putin acknowledges that the ruble of Russians has fallen but points out that Russians have risen from their knees.

The Russian Federal Service for Narcotics Control comes out against the legalization of drugs in Russia. Their reason? “Putin and Moscow television are more than sufficient.”

Given the number of airline accidents with which Russia is involved, it appears that Putin served not in the KGB but in the Anti-Aircraft Forces.

Two prisoners are talking. One asks “For what were you convicted?” The other says he created a comic strip showing that President Putin is an idiot. Under what paragraph of the law were you sentenced, the first asks, hooliganism or extremism? The second replies: no, not either of these, rather for revealing a state secret.

After Moscow occupies Crimea, Yanukovich asks Putin whether he can go to Foros and be the lawful president there. Putin replies: “No, you are only a lawful president in Rostov.”

When Putin is flying away from Brisbane, his press secretary finds him in tears. Peskov says he shouldn’t be upset by what the G-20 leaders said. To which Putin replies, “But I cannot forget that koala and how he embraced me!”

In thinking about these and other new Russian jokes, many of which of course are recycled from Soviet times, one should remember the Polish observation about such humor: When times are bad, Poles say, people tell political jokes.When they get worse, people stop.

Citizens of the Ukrainian city of Donetsk say they did not ask for pro-Moscow separatists to take over their city and they should not be punished for the breakaway insurgency by the Ukrainian government in Kyiv, which will end the funding of all public services in rebel areas by this weekend. On a misty and bitingly frigid Tuesday morning here in central Donetsk more than 200 mainly elderly people, wrapped up against the sharp cold, start queuing up for food handouts donated by a local business oligarch. They say without the aid they would starve. "The aid is crucial," says Aleysa, 43, a widow and mother of two. "A lot of people don’t have anything to eat. Old people aren’t getting their pensions unless they are able to drive outside separatist-controlled areas to register and then collect their allowances," she says. "Most of the elderly and infirm don’t have the means to do so." The aid center in Kalininsky District is open every day and hands out bags containing basic foodstuffs, from butter to cooking oil and grains as well as processed and canned food. Each bag contains enough food for two weeks and recipients can return twice a month for supplies. The center is funded by one of the eastern city’s biggest business oligarchs, Rinat Akhmetov, who has fled to Kyiv. There is a surreal aspect to daily life in the city. The growl of artillery and rocket exchanges can be heard on the outskirts of Donetsk, mainly from heavy fighting around the wrecked airport to the north and in sharp skirmishes to the east. Near the airport, a well-heeled district is virtually empty of people who have fled because Grad rockets and shells were over-shooting. In the southern edge of the center, shops and malls remain open but retailers have trouble restocking and most people do not have the cash to buy. Over the weekend, Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko, amidst a military buildup by Russia and Ukrainian reinforcements being rushed to the east, announced the government would stop funding public services in insurgent-held areas in Donetsk and Luhansk, the two eastern-most provinces. That includes halting funding of public hospitals. Reaction from civilians in the city of Donetsk is fierce. Galina, a 66-year-old pensioner, says she has not received her state pension for four months and is worried about the ending of funding of public services. She says the separatists took over the city and no one asked them to do this, but why should Kyiv punish ordinary people. "Without state funding what should ordinary people do, just starve and die?" she asks angrily. Kyiv hopes that by isolating Moscow-backed rebel-held areas, it will push ordinary people to turn against separatists. But some critics fear it will have the opposite effect, saying most locals opposed to the insurgency have long fled, leaving either diehard supporters or those too poor or old to go.

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